(This likely represents my last post here.)Update- some of the text of this long post disappeared when I first posted it, but it's been reinserted and set off.Part 1 of the series and Part 2My note-taking mechanism consist of two things*: Evernote and a pocket notebook. I'll explain what they are, and how I use them to keep track of all my Church and scripture notes.Evernote is a free very easy note-taking program. I haven't used Evernote competitors like MS Onenote, Si … [Read more...]

Last night I read to my son from an illustrated book called New Testament Stories. The book fell open to the story of Jesus cleansing the temple, and my impulse was to skip over it to avoid having to explain the image of Jesus using a whip. But my son wanted to hear the story, so I relented. I told him the basic outline of the story and conveyed the message that temples and the churches are houses of God, places where the Holy Ghost can be. That makes them special, and we don’t do everyday t … [Read more...]

(Part 1) I have my functional stylish desk, sharpened pencils, scriptures and a clean slate.... and there it sits, stubbornly remaining that way... blank.Many people just don't know what to write in their notes, which often means that they haven't really crossed the line from scripture reading into scripture study. (The problem with scripture study is you can often barely get through a verse without running down all kinds of interesting rabbit trails, questions, etc.) … [Read more...]

It's happened to you before. Lots, actually. You're reading the scriptures, and say "hey, I read something about this that was cool/insightful/important! I wish I'd written it down, because I can't really remember it."Or you're on a blog, trying to recall that perfectly a propos statement you’ve read, but you can't even remember when you read it or what the title was, or even if it was print vs. electronic and googling is no help at all.Or you made some notes somewhere on a lesson you had to … [Read more...]

"The fundamental principles of our religion are the testimony of the Apostles and Prophets, concerning Jesus Christ, that He died, was buried, and rose again the third day, and ascended into heaven; and all other things which pertain to our religion are only appendages to it" -Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 121 (I usually post a picture of the person quoted, but today thought in more appropriate to picture the subject of the post.) … [Read more...]

I miss Elder Maxwell... There are other things we can do daily to bolster the faith of others as well as our own. Peter prescribed: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear" (1 Peter 3:15).The word answer here means a verbal defense or a reason statement. The very act of so giving our witness will help not only others but also ourselves. As Brigham Young said, we will … [Read more...]

In context of rumors, random stories, space doctrine, and basically the kind of thing missionaries pass around without any kind of substantiated provenance, President Lee said, "...it never ceases to amaze me how gullible some of our Church members are..."— President Harold B. Lee, "Admonitions for the Priesthood of God", Ensign, Jan 1973 … [Read more...]

I spent some time today watching live feed of a pair of eagles caring for their hatchlings in a large cottonwood tree in Iowa. One egg hatched on April 2, a second on April 3, and the third will hatch within a couple of days. You can catch the 24 hour feed here. It was remarkable to watch them - especially around 5 pm central time when one was feeding the hatchlings a fish. The female and male take turns sitting in the nest while the other hunts for food - and the nest is fit for a noble … [Read more...]

Last month the artificial intelligence computer system "Watson" beat the two biggest winners ever on Jeopardy!. Watson is a kind of specific artificial intelligence - it's programmed to do something very specific, which is to answer questions for Jeopardy!. As David Ferrucci, lead researcher of the IBM team that created Watson said, it can only respond to content it's been given and analyzed; it understands language "only in a way we call statistical machine learning. It gives you the answer … [Read more...]

I'll admit upfront that there's more than one way to read this.Dogmatic assertions do not take the place of revelation, and we should be satisfied with that which is accepted as doctrine, and not discuss matters that, after all disputes, are merely matters of theory. Your brethren, (Signed) JOSEPH F. SMITH, ANTHON H. LUND, CHARLES W. PENROSE. -James R. Clark, comp., Messages of the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints 6 vols. [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965-75], … [Read more...]